A Heavy Gift

Holy shit, that was ruthless!

This right here was the true nature of an old fox!

For the Hyuga Clan to survive and thrive the way they did later on, not a single one of them was harmless.

That move was so slick it almost blinded Naruto.

Knowing the temperament of those Uchiha maniacs, if Hidden Cloud Village dared to utter a single word of dissent, their entire clan would march out to crush them.

Surrender?

Peace talks?

Not a chance in hell!

Even though they had kicked out the faction loyal to Madara Uchiha when he left them behind in Konoha, technically making them the moderate wing, that didn't mean the blood in their veins had gone cold.

Why else would they constantly plot rebellion, looking to raise the Uchiha banner high once again?

If Hiruzen Sarutobi tried to use Konoha's peace as an excuse to force Fugaku Uchiha down from his position as clan head, then aside from that dutiful son Itachi Uchiha, not even Shisui Uchiha would agree to it.

They were itching to start a war right now, with the Uchiha leading the charge to rack up military achievements and proudly move their clan grounds back to the center of the village.

After all, ever since the Nine-Tails incident, the Uchiha had even had their ancestral graves dug up and relocated directly beside the prison.

In the eyes of these people who looked down on everyone else from their high horses, swallowing that insult was impossible, so it was hardly surprising they schemed day and night to overthrow the government.

In his past life, Naruto had always heard people say the Hyuga and the Uchiha didn't get along.

Now he understood completely—that was just nonsense that popped up only after the Hyuga sided with the Hokage.

When it came to these major clans, only ironclad interests mattered; where was there ever any room for personal grudges?

The Konoha Military Police Force was already Uchiha territory, and maintaining village security was their job. Even if Fugaku beat an emissary from Hidden Cloud Village to death with a single punch, not even Hiruzen would dare utter a half-word of objection.

Following Hinata, Naruto stepped through the gates of the Hyuga Clan once again.

Inside the living room, Hyuga Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuga were already waiting.

Standing right beside them with a curious look on his face was the future brother-in-law, Neji Hyuga.

The few of them sat down properly on the tatami mats.

Hyuga Hiashi waved his hand, dismissing all the servants.

His expression turned serious, and after exchanging a glance with his younger brother, the two of them bowed deeply in unison toward Naruto, paying him profound respect.

Naruto felt his heart skip a beat at this grand display.

He had originally underestimated the bond between these two brothers.

He had figured Hyuga Hiashi would at most offer a few verbal thanks, boosting his reputation a bit and helping plug the financial hole where he couldn't even afford a meal, and that would already be a massive net profit.

Never had he expected them to bow so readily to a four-year-old kid who hadn't even grown up yet.

Though come to think of it, back during the Chunin Ninja Exams, hadn't Hyuga Hiashi knelt down for his nephew Neji once before?

Naruto hurriedly waved both hands like windmills, his face plastered with confusion: "What are you guys playing at? I didn't even do anything."

Hyuga Hiashi straightened up, staring at Naruto's utterly ordinary four-year-old appearance, and began to harbor deep suspicions in his heart.

Was it really just a coincidence?

That didn't add up; when Naruto came running over to say those things, the Hidden Cloud delegation hadn't even shown a single hair yet.

Thinking back on Naruto's background, Hyuga Hiashi's mind suddenly cleared up.

Where would a nursing toddler learn about such crucial matters? It had to be a trusted confidant of the Fourth Hokage who passed along the message and sent Naruto to run the errand.

Whoever it was couldn't stand Third's methods and wanted to find a patron for Naruto, and that person was most likely hiding inside the ANBU!

The head of a clan couldn't help but turn things over in his mind several times. For someone to specifically run over and warn him to be on guard against the diplomatic mission, the matter itself reeked of strangeness.

After all, even if the intruders were Jonin, trying to take advantage inside the Hyuga Clan Grounds wasn't that easy.

That left only one possibility—the danger was on the inside!

That was why he had specifically gone to the Military Police Force to notify them, having people keep a dead-eyed watch on Hinata.

And sure enough, those bastards from Hidden Cloud actually dared to make a move to snatch her!

What sent an even chillier shiver down Hyuga Hiashi's spine was that once Hidden Cloud bit back with false accusations, the very first person to jump forward was Hiruzen Sarutobi!

He opened his mouth and demanded that the Hyuga Clan push out his own younger brother to take the fall, all to buy peace for Konoha!

Hyuga Hiashi's temper flared straight to the top of his head right then and there.

If he hadn't kept a backup plan, adopting the mindset that it was better to be safe than sorry, then to prevent the Byakugan from leaking out, those old fossils in the clan definitely would have dragged his twin brother out as a scapegoat.

Just thinking about that made his heart flutter with lingering fear.

He already felt overwhelmingly guilty toward his brother because of the Caged Bird Seal, and if his brother had lost his life because of him, he wouldn't even need to live out the rest of his days.

Therefore, once that messy business with Hidden Cloud was settled, he immediately called Naruto over.

Seeing Naruto's utterly nonchalant attitude now, Hyuga Hiashi became even more certain that an expert behind the scenes was pulling the strings.

Who would ever believe a four-year-old brat could understand all this?

He forced a friendly smile onto his face and said to Naruto, "You don't need to worry about the specifics of what happened. Feel free to come over and eat whenever you want. If you're short on cash, just have Hinata get it for you. Don't worry about expenses—consider it a small token of appreciation from our Hyuga Clan."

The moment Naruto heard those words, his eyes lit up brilliantly.

The medicinal herbs needed for practicing taijutsu finally had a funding source!